WO 2010/034973 A1 and WO 2010/034981 A1, both in the name of the applicant, describe confectionery products comprising a plurality of capillaries together with apparatus and methods for their production. The present disclosure is a further development of this concept and the reader should refer to WO 2010/034973 A1 and WO 2010/034981 A1, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Briefly, WO 2010/034973 A1 and WO 2010/034981 A1 describe confectionery products comprising an extruded body portion which has a plurality of capillaries disposed therein. The capillaries have an average width or diameter of no more than 3 mm but could have an average width or diameter as small as 10 um. The extruded body is formed from a comestible, confectionery material which is liquid during extrusion but which subsequently sets or solidifies. The capillaries are filled with a fluid that may be air or a liquid confectionery material. In some cases, the liquid filling material also sets or solidifies after extrusion. Several examples are described and include products in which the body portions are formed from extruded hard candy, chewing gum, or chocolate. In the examples, a variety of filling materials for the capillaries are used, including: air, liquid fondant, liquid cocoa butter, Monopropylene glycol, Golden Syrup, and chocolate. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the materials used in the examples. Embodiments are also disclosed in which the product comprises first and second extruded portions, both having a plurality of capillaries disposed therein, and wherein the capillaries in each portion are: a) discontinuous; and/or b) continuous and orientated in more than one direction.
WO 2010/034973 A1 and WO 2010/034981 A1 disclose methods and apparatus for producing the products. FIGS. 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings show somewhat schematically the apparatus used to produce some of the examples in WO 2010/034973 A1 and WO 2010/034981 A1. The apparatus briefly comprises an electric motor 12 which is drivingly coupled to the single screw extruder. The extruder has a barrel 28 surrounding the screw 14 which has three independently controllable temperature zones denoted T1 to T3. The barrel 28 is connected to an extrusion die 18 by means of a feed conduit 29 which also has an independently controllable temperature zone T4. The extruder 14 is fed at one end from a hopper 16 and the molten material is extruded through an outlet aperture 20 in the die 18. Quench jets 22 are directed towards the die outlet aperture 20 so as to cool the extruded material 23 and these jets are fed with compressed air 24. If desired, the area of the apparatus where the hopper 16 is coupled to the screw 14 can be cooled by means of a cooling feed 26. In use, the hopper 16, which may be heated, is filled with a confectionery material 30 (such as candy broken into pieces) for forming the body of the product Before the material passes into the screw 14 it can be cooled by means of the cool feed 26 so as to ensure that the material is at the correct temperature for entering the screw extruder. As the screw is rotated, the material is drawn along the screw 14 inside the barrel 28 and the temperature of the zones T1-T3 adjusted so that the material is delivered in a molten/liquid state to the feed conduit 29. The liquefied material passes through the feed conduit 29 and its temperature adjusted again (if required) by temperature control T4 before entering the die head 18.
The die head 18 (shown in FIGS. 3 to 5) includes an outer body 70 having an opening 74 connected by means of an inner passage or flow path to the outlet aperture 20. Molten material 72 for forming the body of the product enters the opening 74 from the feed conduit and passes along the flow path to exit the die through the aperture 20, the shape of which defines the outer cross sectional profile of the extrudate 23. A nozzle assembly 58 (shown on its own in FIG. 3) having a number of needles or inlet nozzles 60 is located within the flow path in the outer body so that the liquid material passes over and around the nozzles. The nozzles 60 are similar to hypodermic needles being hollow and having an outlet at their distal, downstream end. The nozzles 60 are all in fluid communication with an inlet channel 64 via a cavity in the body 62 of the nozzle assembly. The inlet channel 64 is fluidly connected with a fluid source by means of a fluid feed conduit 56 to form fluid filled capillaries within the extrudate body. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the inlet channel is connected with a source of air at ambient pressure and temperature so that the capillaries are air filled.
As shown in FIG. 5, the extrudate 23 is cooled by means of the quench jets 22 as it is released from the die 18. A valve 32 controls the flow of compressed air to the quench jets 22 and pressure devices P1 and P2 control the pressure of the compressed air 24 before and after the valve. The compressed air line also has a temperature control T6 so as to control the temperature of the air. The quench jets were used in particular for the generation of high-voidage material but are not essential.
FIG. 2 illustrates schematically an adaptation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to introduce a liquid confectionery filling material into the capillaries rather than air. In this arrangement, the nozzles 60 are fluidly connected to a reservoir 50 containing a liquid filling material with a hydraulic head of pressure h. In one embodiment, the liquid filling material is cocoa butter and the reservoir 50 is heated so that the cocoa butter is maintained at the correct temperature so as to maintain it in a liquid state. The reservoir 50 is connected to a conduit 52 having an isolation valve 54 for controlling the flow of liquid. The conduit 52 is encased in a trace heating tube 56 which maintains the temperature of the conduit so that the liquid remains in a liquid state during its movement within the conduit. The conduit 52 is coupled to the inlet channel 64 of the nozzle assembly 58 which is in fluid connection with the nozzles 60 so that so that the liquid cocoa butter is fed through the nozzles as the main material is being extruded to simultaneously fill the capillaries formed around the nozzles with cocoa butter.
WO2005/056272 A1 discloses an apparatus for producing an extruded product including a plurality of capillary channels. WO2008/044122 A1 discloses a related apparatus, which additionally includes means for quench cooling an extrudate as it exits the die. The apparatus described in either of these documents may also be employed/adapted for use in producing a comestible product having a body with a plurality of capillaries. The contents of WO2005/056272 A1 and WO2008/044122 A1 are also hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.